Tennis legend taking aim at diabetes

Tennis legend Vic Braden shows students at Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana how he must check his blood sugar level several times a day due to his diabetes. Braden is initiating a program called Junior Medical Ambassadors in which fifth and sixth grade children learn about the effects of bad nutrition and how to eat well.PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

About Vic Braden

Born: Monroe, Mich.

Lives: Coto de Caza

Age: 84

Background: Braden has been a tennis player, teaching professional and broadcaster. He is the founder and director of the Vic Braden Tennis College in Coto de Caza; the cofounder of Vic Braden Tennis College at Star Island Resort in Kissimmee, Fla.; and the cofounder of Vic Braden Tennis College in St. George, Utah. He and Jack Kramer also co-founded the Jack Kramer Tennis Club in Palos Verdes.

Since joining the U.S. Professional Tennis Association in 1984, he has authored numerous books including "Tennis for the Future," "Teaching Children Tennis the Vic Braden Way," "Quick Fixes" and "Mental Tennis." As a professional player, he was invited to play in the World Tennis Championships three times. Last month, he was inducted into the Southern California Tennis Association and USPTA halls of fame.

More information

Vic Braden said the United States Tennis Association will seek grants to match what he raises. To help donate, visit VicBraden.com.

Diabetes and nutrition quiz

Here are examples of questions Junior Medical Ambassadors at Heninger Elementary School have to answer.

1. The goal for the Type 2 diabetic is to keep their blood sugars level with a healthy diet and exercise? True/False

2. What factors contribute to Type 2 diabetes?

A. Race and ethnicity

B. Weight: Overweight

C. Lifestyle: Inactivity and poor eating habits

D. Genetics: Family history

E. All of the above

3. What are the three primary sources of nutrients (calories) in a balanced diet:

A. Carbohydrates, proteins and fats

B. Protein, vitamins and minerals

C. Sugar, water and vitamins

4. What nutrient has the greatest effect on blood sugar?

A. Fats

B. Proteins

C. Carbohydrates

5. A diabetic cannot eat any carbohydrates? True/False

Answers: 1) True; 2) E; 3) A; 4) C; 5) False

COTO DE CAZA – From the moment he wakes up, Vic Braden follows a strict routine.

In decades past, that routine likely would have included tennis in some form – a sport in which Braden is widely known as a player, coach, broadcaster and author.

Now, the 84-year-old begins his day by pricking his finger to test his blood-sugar level. It's an exercise he has repeated multiple times over the past 20 years. Such is the life of a Type 2 diabetic whose day revolves around maintenance and treatment of the disease that has no cure.

“I wasn't devastated (by the news that I was a diabetic) until I realized my life was slowing down a lot. I was planning on playing in the 90-and-over division,” Braden said.

Braden says his upbringing as the oldest child of a poor family in Monroe, Mich., in the '30s and '40s likely played a big role in setting the groundwork for being a diabetic.

“When you come from a poor family, sweets are a treat. For years, a doughnut and a cup of coffee was all I needed,” he said.

The disease eventually would cost him his left eye. “It sure made it hard to hit a tennis ball,” he said.

Braden knows it could have been worse. Diabetics are at risk for health issues ranging from neuropathy to high blood pressure.

“I didn't take it very seriously, quite frankly, until I lost an eye. At that point, I began to see the seriousness,” Braden said.

JUNIOR MEDICAL AMBASSADORS

A few years ago, Braden started the Junior Tennis Ambassadors, in which children as young as 8 learn to be tennis coaches, instructing their peers, and even adults. It's fun for the teacher and student, he said, and simultaneously helps address school budget cuts and childhood obesity. By providing a free after-school tennis program, more children can be physically active.

That program led to Braden's newest effort: the Junior Medical Ambassadors. The program centers around fifth- and sixth-grade students learning to be doctors and training them about the dangers of diabetes and obesity. The goal is to have the “junior doctors” teach classrooms about those dangers.

“Diabetes is the No. 1 health issue in America, and most kids don't know anything about it,” Braden said.

He started the program last year at Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana. Braden, along with Dr. John Martinez and certified nutrition specialist Linda Giampaolo, hold a one-hour class with 10 “future doctors” twice a month to teach them about diabetes and how to eat healthy.

“I chose Heninger because diabetes is prevalent in the Hispanic population,” Braden said.

After adjusting for age, data from a 2007-09 national survey of people age 20 or older show 11.8 percent of Hispanics had diagnosed diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.

The figures are 7.1 percent for non-Hispanic whites, 8.4 percent for Asian Americans and 12.6 percent for non-Hispanic blacks.

“It would be great to see this program expand beyond this area,” said Martinez, who works for Kaiser Permanente. “A national program would be very valuable for a number of reasons: One, it has great potential to get kids thinking about higher education; and two, if we can cure one disease, it would be diabetes, because it's a precursor to heart disease.”

Tennis legend Vic Braden shows students at Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana how he must check his blood sugar level several times a day due to his diabetes. Braden is initiating a program called Junior Medical Ambassadors in which fifth and sixth grade children learn about the effects of bad nutrition and how to eat well. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Sixth-graders (left to right) Gustavo Burgos, Rylee Garcia, and Jose Mondragon listen to tennis legend Vic Braden speak about the negative side-effects that a poor diet and lack of exercise have on the body over time. Vic Braden, 84, is a former district psychologist who started the Junior Medical Ambassadors program to educate young people about the importance of staying healthy, in the hope that they will teach other students of what they learned. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Gustavo Burgos, 11, left, and Jose Mondrogon, 11 of Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana have a taste of papaya during a Junior Medical Ambassadors class. Tennis legend Vic Braden is initiating the program in which fifth and sixth grade children learn about the effects of bad nutrition and how to eat well. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Vic Braden, 84, of Coto de Caza records a brief interview with sixth-grader, Nallely Gomez, 11, of Santa Ana during a recent Junior Medical Ambassadors session. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Certified Nutritionalist Linda Giampaollo begins a Junior Medical Ambassadors class distributing apples to Heninger Elementary School students Gustavo Burgos, 11, Julio Campos, 12, and Mauricio Perea, 12, from left. Giampaollo conducts classes once a month as part of the program started by tennis legend Vic Braden in the hope the students will later hold classes themselves and teach other kids about good nutrition. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Dr. John Martinez, 55, of Laguna Niguel visits Heninger Elementary to share his first-hand knowledge of the medical field with participants in the Junior Medical Ambassadors program. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Nallely Gomez, 11, of Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana looks to answer a question about nutrition during a Junior Medical Ambassadors class. The program, started by tennis legend Vic Braden, is held twice a month in the hope that the students will later hold classes themselves and teach other kids about good nutrition. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Tennis legend Vic Braden, right, addresses students in his Junior Medical Ambassadors at Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana. The program has a doctor and a nutritionalist present classes on good nutrition in the hope that the students will later hold classes on their own to pass on what they have learned to other kids. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Mauricio Perea, 12, digs into an apple given to him by certified nutritionalist Linda Giampaollo, who was leading a Junior Medical Ambassadors class at Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Tennis legend Vic Braden takes video of students taking his Junior Medical Ambassadors class at Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Tennis legend Vic Braden takes video of a Junior Medical Ambassadors class at Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana, where he is initiating the program in which fifth and sixth grade children learn about the effects of bad nutrition and how to eat well. The idea is to have the ambassadors teach students at their school of what they learned in the classes. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Junior Medical Ambassador Rylee Garcia, 12, of Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Junior Medical Ambassador Mauricio Perea, 12, of Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Junior Medical Ambassador Julio Campos, 12, of Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Junior Medical Ambassador Antoinette Govea, 12, of Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Junior Medical Ambassador Deyra Aguilar, 10, of Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Junior Medical Ambassador Jose Mondrogon, 11, of Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Junior Medical Ambassador Jose Lemus, 11, of Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Sixth-grader Gustavo Burgos is a participant in the Junior Medical Ambassadors at Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Nallely Gomez, 11, of Santa Ana is a participant in the Junior Medical Ambassadors at Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Priscilla Arceo, 11, of Santa Ana is a participant in the Junior Medical Ambassadors at Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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